Adam reached under the table and pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to me. I held it in my hands for a minute, frowning. “What’s this?”
Adam seemed on edge and weirdly nervous. “Open it, read it, then we’ll talk.”
I looked at Meg who gave me an encouraging smile. “It won’t bite you, promise.”
I tore open the envelope and removed a letter written on the official letterhead of Jenkins, Ducate, and Wyatt, Attorneys at Law. The table fell silent as I read the words typed on the page. When I got to the bottom and saw the three signatures of the partners, I looked up at my brother in bewilderment.
“What the hell is this?” I asked.
I could hear Adam tapping his foot under the table. “What does it look like? It’s an offer.”
I held up the paper, shaking it in his face. “Too generous of an offer for a freshly graduated law student.” I felt myself growing hot. “Is this so I’ll stay in Pennsylvania? Is this some elaborate bribe?” I accused.
Adam looked taken aback. “What? No—”
I threw the letter onto the table. My parents wisely kept quiet and Hannah was looking at her drink as if it were the most interesting thing in the room. Jenna chewed on her bottom lip; her eyes wide.
“I can’t believe Rob and Jeremy would agree to this. It’s ludicrous. You’re saying you’ll take me on as a junior associate and essentially fast track me to partner? There is no way in fucking hell Wyatt would sign off on that. I don’t believe it.”
Adam frowned. “He did. We all did.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but my brother held up his hand. “Lena, you just graduated with a near-perfect GPA from Penn State Law School. You helped me win one of the biggest criminal cases of my career only six months ago. You have proved over and over again for the past thirteen months that you are shrewd. You are detail-oriented. You know how to spot things that other attorneys miss. You’re going to be one hell of a lawyer and frankly, I want that big brain of yours working for me and not some other firm. I want to watch you grow professionally and I want to help you grow. I’m offering you this opportunity, not as your brother, but as your employer who has seen firsthand what you’re capable of.”
I sat there in shocked silence. For the first time in my life, I had nothing to say. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, but no words came out.
Mom took the letter and read it for herself and put a hand to her chest. “Adam, this is an amazing offer.” She looked at me. “You deserve this sweetie.” Moms were unabashedly biased, and my mother was the worst of them, but her words made me feel good, nonetheless.
“I know you’re talking to other firms but think about it. This offer is of course contingent on you passing the bar—”
“Of course, I’ll pass the bar,” I jumped in.
Adam smirked. “If you pass the bar, you’ll come work for me, Rob, and Jeremy as a junior associate. Our casework has gone through the roof. We have a number of high-profile clients that have recently put us on retainer. We had planned to advertise for associates, but we wanted to offer you first refusal.” He gave me a wry look. “I’m sure you’ll agree that you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better offer than that one.”
“And you’d be providing this same offer to any associate you take on? I don’t want special treatment, Adam. I want to earn my place.” I was adamant. I didn’t want my career to begin with a nasty case of nepotism.
Adam seemed to take offense. “I’m not even dignifying that with an answer.” His chest puffed out indignantly. “Do you honestly think I’d risk the reputation of my law firm by hiring my sister if you weren’t up to the task? That I would jeopardize everything I’ve built to give you a job you don’t deserve?”
Well, when he put it like that…
“If you don’t want the job, that’s fine. You’re not going to hurt my feelings. But you’d be a damn fool not to at least consider it. And take the idea that I’m doing you some sort of favor out of your mind because that’s not the case. Rob would never have agreed to it otherwise. And Jeremy sure as hell wouldn’t either.”
At the mention of Jeremy’s name, my stomach coiled tight. Could I work with Jeremy Wyatt? Would that even be possible? I had only survived the last few months as their paralegal because I knew it wasn’t forever, that I’d be able to pick up my stuff and walk out the door and forget all about him. But now, this incredible offer changed things. I had to ask myself if I could handle Jeremy on a daily basis without gouging his eyes out and ripping out his tongue.